Accidentally In Love
by Ariennye
Summary: A short, fluffy story about Jr. and MOMO. [Slightly AU, Episode II spoilers]


**Accidentally In Love**

Author's Note: This is slightly AU as when I wrote this I hadn't finished the game.

Jr. sat in the park after much of the _Durandal_ was asleep, merely thinking. The others were exhausted, except for KOS-MOS of course. They'd retired to bed or to the lab to recharge. Jr. had excused himself from the group as they walked back toward their rooms on the Durandal, claiming he had work to do. But he didn't really. He just wanted to think about everything that had happened since he'd met these extraordinary people. And, in particular, a cute pink-haired Realian.

MOMO had asked him what was the matter when he'd left the group. She'd pretended to believe his excuse in front of the others, but they both knew there was something else there. She'd merely smiled, then waited until the rest of the group had continued on. He'd felt his face grow red as she'd stayed there, looking at him.

"Jr., are you sure there's nothing wrong? You've been acting awfully funny recently."

"I-I guess it was just that encounter with Albedo. It just kind of...rattled me." That was the truth, but it wasn't the whole truth. She'd just nodded, then moved closer. He'd almost backed away, but stayed, wondering what she was doing. She reached out, and grasped his hand, looking into his sapphire eyes with her topaz ones.

"I know something's wrong, and I accept that you don't want to talk about it. But if you ever change your mind, I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere."

He'd nodded, not trusting himself to speak when she was so close. She'd looked into his eyes for a long moment, then walked away. He'd not moved from that spot after she walked away, still slightly entranced by her, something that had been happening a bit more frequently lately. It had taken him several minutes to realize he looked like a fool, and was silently glad no one had come by and noticed him.

Every time he was near her he felt like there were a million hyper butterflies in his stomach. When they were battling he always glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, just to make sure she was still there. He didn't know exactly what was making him feel this way about her. But he had an idea, although he wasn't sure if he was right. But he might be. He might actually be...in love.

The mere thought of love made him feel nervous all over again. He'd gone out with girls before, he'd been interested in girls before, but he'd never actually considered himself to be _in love_ with any of them. Now, here he was, sure that he was actually in love.

But he wasn't supposed to be. That was why he'd never even tried to be close to anyone before. He was a U.R.T.V., a hazardous, rogue creation. He had, or rather, _used _to have, a crazy brother, an incomplete mission, and had been slowly falling deeper and deeper into despair ever since Miltia fourteen years ago. His actions had weighed heavily on him since them, and the cruel words of Albedo had only driven him further into his sorrow. Sure, he hid it, but it was always there, waiting to resurface. It had, in the Encephalon, with MOMO and Ziggy. He'd actually snapped at her. The memory felt like a thin blade slipped between his ribs, gliding smoothly into his heart. The look on her face was one that visited him again and again in memories. Recently, it had been a recurring nightmare too. He'd snap at her, and she'd run off, sad and scared. He always ran after her, and he always found her dying from a psycho U.R.T.V./Realian attack, a look of deep sorrow and confusion on her pale face. She always turned to him, and her sorrow was yet another stab to the heart. It was an attack he could have prevented if he had stayed in control. He couldn't even get any sleeping pills, as they wouldn't work on him. He'd tried, but they just didn't help. The dreams came despite it all.

He couldn't afford to be in love. Hell, he didn't even _know_ anything about love. It was merely something he'd never needed to worry about before. And now, it was the only thing on his mind. He rested his head in his hands; closing his eyes and wishing that there was some sort of cure for this. Because it was something he couldn't ignore anymore.

He sighed. _Why can't anyone else have this problem? I just...I can't. I don't want to hurt anyone, especially not her. Oh gods, I just don't know what to do._ There was nothing left to do but hope that this was just a phase, that nothing did happen. He wanted something to, he wanted that more than anything, but he couldn't afford it. None of them could.

He reached up, and lazily grabbed one of the float environmental bugs. It stilled in his palm, and he smiled at the pale light it gave off. It was calming to look at, a small piece of light in the dark. Kind of like her presence. Something that gave him more hope than anything else in the world.

"Jr., what are you doing here...?" asked a quiet voice behind him, and the butterflies in his stomach appeared right on cue. He released the environmental bug, then turned around and faced MOMO. She stood there, still in her day clothes, looking at him with her head tilted to one side in curiosity. He grinned nervously at her.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he asked her. She just smiled back.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to come here for a bit. But I can leave, since I'm sure you wanted to be alone." She turned to walk away, but Jr. reached out a grabbed her arm. He had no idea what made him do it, but he just wanted her to stay.

"That's okay, I don't mind. Being alone lets me think too much anyway." He nodded toward the other end of the bench. "Would you like to sit down?"

As he said it he felt stupid. After all, why would she want to spend time with him? But, to his surprise, she did turn around and sat down on the bench.

"What were you doing besides thinking?" she asked. He nodded toward the environmental bugs.

"I was watching them. Somehow they always seem to calm me. And they're good to look at when you merely want to think," he explained. She looked at the dance of the environmental bugs, and for a long while watched, entranced by them. He watched her from the corner of his eye, entranced by her. The environmental bugs' light gently framed her face and reflected off the small discs in her hair, making it seem like there was a halo around her. He looked away before she could catch him looking at her. He instead focused on the dancing bugs, unaware that at that moment he was being watched by a pair of honey eyes.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked, almost to break the silence. He gulped silently. He wasn't sure what he could say. If he said nothing, she'd think he was angry at her. If he told something that wasn't true, it was the same scenario. There was only one thing he could say that might not make her feel angry or hurt by him.

He'd never meant for this to happen, but it had. And now, in the end, there was no going back. He couldn't keep escaping this, even though he was trying with all his might. He knew that if he didn't say something he would go mad. Besides, there was something about her that made him think there was hope for them, that maybe this wouldn't end in sorrow and despair for either of them. He took a deep breath, and looked her straight in the eyes. She looked back at him, full of trust, and maybe, just maybe, understanding.

"MOMO, there's something I've been meaning to talk about. I was just sitting up here, wondering if I should, even though you're gonna leave tomorrow. I guess I might as well talk about it now, seeing as you're here. See, I..." But something held him back. He just couldn't. She reached out, and grasped his hand.

"It's okay, you can tell me," she said, looking at him. He gritted his teeth. He had to say something, and he had to say it soon and get it over with, while he still had his wits about him.

"I...love you," he finally managed, then he said it again, just to be clear. "I love you. And I was hoping that you cared about me too."

She just looked at him for a moment, unmoving. He looked at her, unsure how he was supposed to take this. "MOMO, please, say something, anything," he begged. Finally, she sighed softly, so quietly he wasn't sure if he heard it.

"Jr., do you really have to ask?" she said quietly, looking at him. He felt his heart crash on a proverbial pavement. He pulled his hand away, and got up. At least he'd tried, that had to mean something. And maybe it was better this way. Before he could take one step, however, she stood up, reached out and grabbed his arm, turning him around with more strength than he thought she possessed. She looked him straight in the eye, his face mere inches from hers.

"I think you got the wrong meaning out of that," she whispered, then leaned toward him. He barely realized what she was doing milliseconds before she kissed him.

Jr. pulled back after a moment, shocked. Of all the reactions he'd prepared for, that was the one he'd least expected. She just smiled at him.

"You're awfully cute when you're confused," she informed him. He just blinked.

"But...I..." He sighed. "I never thought... But I guess I was wrong."

"Yes, you were. I do love you too. I just thought you knew by now."

"No... I thought I was just seeing what I wanted to see." They smiled at each other, and Jr. leaned in to kiss her once again, losing himself in the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she wrapped hers around his neck. _I'm not alone anymore. Now, I have her... And she really loves me too..._

They broke away, and sat down on the bench. She sat down next to him, and he put his arm around her. They just sat there, not quite sure what else to do, and they wanted to enjoy the little time that remained for them before she had to go. The stars passed by the window, and the bugs danced on in the air, leaving glittering trails behind them for a split second before they burned out. Neither was sure how long they sat there, side by side, but they both realized eventually that they needed some sleep. Tomorrow was, after all, going to be a big day for everyone.

Jr. walked with MOMO to the room she shared with Shion. They were silent as they walked through the deserted halls, holding hands. When they reached the room, MOMO turned to look at him.

"I guess I'll have to be really quiet when I'm getting into my bed," she whispered. "I don't want to wake anyone up."

"Yeah, I guess so." He frowned. "I...hope I see you again someday. After you leave, of course."

"I'll keep looking for you. And you can keep looking for me."

"Promise," he whispered.

"Promise," she echoed.

They stood there a moment, simply looking at each other, blue eyes meeting yellow ones. Finally, they leaned in for one last kiss, then smiled.

"Goodnight, MOMO," he said.

"Goodnight, Jr.," she whispered back. They smiled, then MOMO silently let herself into the room. Jr. waited there a moment, then started back toward his own room.

As he walked down the smooth halls of the ship he couldn't help jumping up once to punch the air. She actually liked him. She really did...

"You look happy," said a voice. Jr. turned around to see Shelley and Mary there, watching him curiously. While he was a fun loving person, he usually restrained himself on the ship. This was definitely unusual.

"I am," he said simply, then walked away, leaving a very confused Shelley and Mary to watch his retreating back curiously.

"Now what was that about...?" Mary asked her sister. Shelley merely shook her head.

"Just when you think you understand him a little, he turns around and does this," she murmured. Mary grinned suddenly.

"Do you think it has anything to do with his 'girlfriend'?" she asked, using the word they always did when referring to MOMO. They, just like everyone else, could see how close the two had become. Shelley nodded thoughtfully.

"You know, that just may be it..."

Jr. let himself into his room, still feeling light as a feather. He couldn't believe what had happened. It was like a dream, the best dream he'd ever had. It was amazing that such a simple to say, one syllable word could have such powerful, wonderful feelings attached to it.

He was sure that, somewhere, they were disrupting the way things went. He was an unstable rogue U.R.T.V. She was the Realian creation of the madman who had let the Gnosis into their galaxy, and she'd once been the most coveted Realian because of the data she'd used to carry within her circuits. He'd even cared about her sister.And yet, despite it all, here they were. And they were together. And maybe, just maybe, they'd save each other from the problems they faced. And maybe they could even save each other from themselves.

He pulled on some pajamas, then crawled into bed. As he slowly drifted off to sleep he felt an uncontrollable grin crossing his features. A grin that stayed plastered to his face even in sleep. Even if she was leaving, she still loved him. And he knew they'd meet again. They had to.

And that night, no nightmares plagued his slumber.


End file.
